The present invention relates generally to and, more particularly, to generally to digitizing, storing, and retrieving digitized information and, more particularly, to equipment and a process for digitizing, storing, accessing, and listening to music in a commercial establishment which sells compact discs (CD) so that customers may listen to all the songs from all the CDs available in the shop.
As it is known in the art, in some shops that sell CDs, usually one or more CD payers are provided, which when requested by the customer, enable the customer to listen or preview a certain song from a CD before buying it. Obviously, not many CDs are available for preview. The shop employees or owner makes the most requested or sold CD available for preview. Only these CDs are available for preview on shop CD players, regardless of whether the customer buys the product. Further, because only a limited number of CD players are available for listening, the customers do not always have a chance to preview their desired songs. Some consumers choose not to wait and eventually may choose not to purchase the CD.
In larger shops, the traditional system that allows the users to listen to the songs from a certain CD consists of CD players arranged throughout the shop. Large shops may offer either listening stations, with separate CD players, or a totem pole or kiosk arrangement, with groups of CD players ranging from one to five or more. Usually, each CD player already has a CD inserted. The employees shop owner often selects the CD considered to be one of the most interesting or requested. In the totem pole or kiosk arrangement, a central controller enables a consumer to select the desired CD for preview from the CDs inserted in the CD players in the totem pole or kiosk. Of course, the consumer may choose the track from the desired CD and increase/decrease the volume. Because these conventional systems use CD players, the inherently limit the number of CDs to which the customer may listen. Considering a medium size shop having ten totem poles or kiosks, each having five CD players, only a total of 50 CDs are available for listening. This is a small percentage of the thousands of other CDs which the shop may offer.
More recently, systems have developed, which use personal computers (PC) in the listening stations. The PC stores music and are networked so that a server can look to other PCs in the network when a selected song is not stored in the computer at the listening station. The selected song may be found and copied or moved from the server to the requesting PC at the listening station. One disadvantage of these systems is that the computers used in the several listening stations must be configured to enable the storage of songs, making the cost of the system rather expensive. In addition, even properly configured computers are often very slow, causing delays while downloading large amounts of data through the local network.
It is an object of the present invention to make the present systems less expensive and faster, while enabling the access and preview of songs, and to allow consumers to listen to almost all the CDs available in the shops.
In general, the present invention includes a digitized music server, such as a PC, where music or other information from the digitized CDs will be stored, a music digitalization station, such as a PC, for the digitizing a portion of each track from each song from each CD and several listening stations, such as PCs through which the digitized and stored music in the server may be accessed and previewed by the users. Each listening station includes an earphone, a keyboard with a display, a bar code reader, and communicates with the server via a local network. Each CD includes a label with a barcode which specifically identifies each CD.
When the user desires to listen to a particular track from a particular CD, the user scans the CD by using the bar code reader of a listening station, so that the music files from the selected CD are quickly located. Using the keyboard and the display, the user may then select the desired track for review. The user may control the listening station through the network. By means of an audio adapter, the computer plays the selected track through the earphone of the listening station.
Unlike conventional systems, the selected track file does not need to be stored at the PC prior to preview. According to the present invention, the selected track file is downloaded only to the listening station PC and the user listens to the track through the earphone while that downloading occurs.
The present invention yields several advantages. By playing tracks on the fly, without the need of storage in the listening stations computers, the present invention utilizes substantially simpler computers in the listening stations, including even the least expensive and simple computers. Consequently, the equipment and process cost is substantially reduced verses conventional systems. In addition, delays due to downloading large amounts of data through the local network are significantly reduced. Optionally, and depending on the particular application, one computer may service more than one listening station, further reducing the overall costs.
The present invention thus offers the consumer the option of listening to all the tracks from all the CDs available in the shop in a substantially simpler, faster, and less expensive solution than existing systems.
For a more complete understanding of the invention, its objects and advantages, reference should be made to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings.
The present invention is directed to a digital music storage and reproduction apparatus including a digital music server and a digital music station. The music storage apparatus at least one listening station also includes a network for interconnecting the music station.
For a more complete understanding of the invention, its objects and advantages, reference should be made to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings.